International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 8 No.4, October 2010
Comparison of FACTS Devices for Power System Stability
Enhancement
D. Murali Dr. M. Rajaram
Research Scholar in EEE Dept., Professor & Head / EEE,
Government College of Engineering, Government College of Engineering,
Bargur-635 104, Tamilnadu, India. Tirunelveli627 007, Tamilnadu,
India.
ABSTRACT
The development of the modern power system has led to an
increasing complexity in the study of power systems, and also
presents new challenges to power system stability, and in
particular, to the aspects of transient stability and small-signal
stability. Transient stability control plays a significant role in
ensuring the stable operation of power systems in the event of
large disturbances and faults, and is thus a significant area of
research. This paper investigates the improvement of transient
stability of a two-area power system, using UPFC (Unified
Power Flow Controller) which is an effective FACTS (Flexible
AC Transmission System) device capable of controlling the
active and reactive power flows in a transmission line by
controlling appropriately its series and shunt parameters.
Simulations are carried out in Matlab/Simulink environment for
the two-area power system model with UPFC to analyze the
effects of UPFC on transient stability performance of the system.
The performance of UPFC is compared with other FACTS
devices such as Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC),
Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC), and Static Var
Compensator (SVC) respectively. The simulation results
demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed
UPFC on transient stability improvement of the system.
Keywords
FACTS, Matlab/Simulink, SSSC, SVC, TCSC, Transient
stability, Two-area power system, UPFC.
1. INTRODUCTION
Modern power system is a complex network comprising of
numerous generators, transmission lines, variety of loads and
transformers. As a consequence of increasing power demand,
some transmission lines are more loaded than was planned when
they were built. With the increased loading of long transmission
lines, the problem of transient stability after a major fault can
become a transmission limiting factor [1]. Now power engineers
are much more concerned about transient stability problem due
to blackout in northeast United States, Scandinavia, England and
Italy. Transient stability refers to the capability of a system to
maintain synchronous operation in the event of large
disturbances such as multi-phase short-circuit faults or switching
of lines [2]. The resulting system response involves large
excursions of generator rotor angles and is influenced by the
nonlinear power angle relationship. Stability depends upon both
the initial operating conditions of the system and the severity of
N. Reka
Lecturer / EEE,
Paavai College of Engineering,
Namakkal637 018, Tamilnadu,
India.
the disturbance. Recent development of power electronics
introduces the use of flexible ac transmission system (FACTS)
controllers in power systems. FACTS controllers are capable of
controlling the network condition in a very fast manner and this
feature of FACTS can be exploited to improve the voltage
stability, and steady state and transient stabilities of a complex
power system [3]-[8]. This allows increased utilization of
existing network closer to its thermal loading capacity, and thus
avoiding the need to construct new transmission lines.
Static VAR Compensator (SVC) is a first generation
FACTS device that can control voltage at the required bus
thereby improving the voltage profile of the system. The primary
task of an SVC is to maintain the voltage at a particular bus by
means of reactive power compensation (obtained by varying the
firing angle of the thyristors) [9]. SVCs have been used for high
performance steady state and transient voltage control compared
with classical shunt compensation. SVCs are also used to
dampen power swings, improve transient stability, and reduce
system losses by optimized reactive power control [10]-[11].
Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) is one of the
important members of FACTS family that is increasingly applied
with long transmission lines by the utilities in modern power
systems. It can have various roles in the operation and control of
power systems, such as scheduling power flow; decreasing
unsymmetrical components; reducing net loss; providing voltage
support; limiting short-circuit currents; mitigating
subsynchronous resonance (SSR); damping the power oscillation;
and enhancing transient stability [12]-[14].
A Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) is a
member of FACTS family which is connected in series with a
power system. It consists of a solid state voltage source converter
which generates a controllable alternating current voltage at
fundamental frequency. When the injected voltage is kept in
quadrature with the line current, it can emulate as inductive or
capacitive reactance so as to influence the power flow through
the transmission line [15]. While the primary purpose of a SSSC
is to control power flow in steady state, it can also improve
transient stability of a power system.
Among the available FACTS devices, the Unified Power
Flow Controller (UPFC) is the most versatile one that can be
used to improve steady state stability, dynamic stability and
transient stability [16]. The UPFC can independently control
many parameters since it is the combination of Static
Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) and SSSC. These
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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
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devices offer an alternative mean to mitigate power system
oscillations. It has been reported in many papers that UPFC can
improve stability of single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system
and multimachine system [17]-[18]. The inter-area power system
has special characteristic of stability behaviour [19]. This paper
investigates the improvement of transient stability of a two-area
power system with a UPFC. A Matlab/Simulink model is
developed for a two-area power system with a UPFC. The
performance of UPFC is compared with other FACTS devices
such as SVC, TCSC, and SSSC respectively. From the
simulation results, it is inferred that UPFC is an effective
FACTS device for transient stability improvement.
power transfer as well as to enhance system stability. The main
circuit of a TCSC is shown in Fig. 2. The TCSC consists of three
main components: capacitor bank C, bypass inductor L and
bidirectional thyristors SCR1 and SCR2. The firing angles of the
thyristors are controlled to adjust the TCSC reactance in
accordance with a system control algorithm, normally in response
to some system parameter variations. According to the variation
of the thyristor firing angle or conduction angle, this process can
be modeled as a fast switch between corresponding reactances
offered to the power system.

2. FACTS CONTROLLERS
FACTS controllers may be based on thyristor devices with no
gate turn-off or power devices with gate turn-off capability.
FACTS controllers are used for the dynamic control of voltage,
impedance and phase angle of high voltage AC transmission
lines. The basic principles of the following FACTS controllers,
which are used in the two-area power system under study, are
Fig. 2 Configuration of a TCSC
discussed briefly.
When the thyristors are fired, the TCSC can be mathematically
2.1 Static Var Compensator (SVC) described as:
Static var systems are applied by utilities in transmission
applications for several purposes. The primary purpose is usually dv di L
for rapid control of voltage at weak points in a network.
ic C ; v L -----
dt dt
Installations may be at the midpoint of transmission
(1)
interconnections or at the line ends. Static Var Compensators are
shunt connected static generators / absorbers whose outputs are where v is the instantaneous voltage across the TCSC. The
varied so as to control voltage of the electric power systems. In instantaneous current of the controlled transmission line is the
its simple form, SVC is connected as Fixed Capacitor-Thyristor sum of the instantaneous values of the currents in the capacitor
Controlled Reactor (FC-TCR) configuration as shown in Fig. 1. banks and inductor respectively. Assuming that the total current
The SVC is connected to a coupling transformer that is connected passing through the TCSC is sinusoidal; the equivalent reactance
directly to the ac bus whose voltage is to be regulated. The at the fundamental frequency can be represented as a variable
effective reactance of the FC-TCR is varied by firing angle reactance X TCSC . The TCSC can be controlled to work
control of the antiparallel thyristors. The firing angle can be
either in the capacitive or in the inductive zones avoiding steady
controlled through a PI (Proportional + Integral) controller in
state resonance. There exists a steady-state relationship between
such a way that the voltage of the bus, where the SVC is
connected, is maintained at the reference value. the firing angle and the reactance X TCSC . This
relationship can be described by the following equation [20]:

X c2 ( sin )
X TCSC ( ) = X c
( X c X p)

4 X c2 cos2 ( / 2) (k tan(k / 2) tan( / 2))

( X c X p ) (k 2 1)
------(2)
where, Xc = Nominal reactance of the fixed capacitor C.

Fig. 1 Configuration of SVC

Xp = Inductive reactance of inductor L connected in parallel
with C.
2.2 Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor
(TCSC) 2( ) = Conduction angle of TCSC controller.
TCSC is one of the most important and best known FACTS
devices, which has been in use for many years to increase the

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 8 No.4, October 2010

X c = Compensation ratio.
k
Xp

2.3 Static Synchronous Series Compensator

(SSSC)
The SSSC is one of the most recent FACTS devices for power
transmission series compensation. It can be considered as a
synchronous voltage source as it can inject an almost sinusoidal
voltage of variable and controllable amplitude and phase angle,
in series with a transmission line. The injected voltage is almost
in quadrature with the line current. A small part of the injected
voltage that is in phase with the line current provides the losses
in the inverter. Most of the injected voltage, which is in Fig. 4 Configuration of UPFC
quadrature with the line current, provides the effect of inserting
an inductive or capacitive reactance in series with the
3. TWO AREA POWER SYSTEM MODEL
transmission line. The variable reactance influences the electric
Consider a two-area power system (Area-1 & Area-2) with series
power flow in the transmission line. The basic configuration of a
and shunt FACTS devices, connected by a single circuit long
SSSC is shown in Fig. 3.
transmission line as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Here, the series
FACTS devices such as UPFC (combination of STATCOM and
SSSC), SSSC, and TCSC are equipped between bus-2 and bus-3
and the shunt FACTS device such as SVC is equipped at bus-2.
The direction of real power flow is from Area-1 to Area-2. In the
two-area power system model, the Area-1 consists of Generator 1
(G1) and Generator 2 (G2) and the Area-2 consists of Generator
3 (G3) and Generator 4 (G4). The system data are given in [21].

Fig. 3 Simplified diagram of a SSSC

2.4 Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC)
Among the available FACTS devices, the Unified Power Flow
Controller (UPFC) is the most versatile one that can be used to
enhance steady state stability, dynamic stability and transient Fig. 5 Two-area power system with series FACTS device
stability. The basic configuration of a UPFC is shown in Fig. 4.
The UPFC is capable of both supplying and absorbing real and
reactive power and it consists of two ac/dc converters. One of the
two converters is connected in series with the transmission line
through a series transformer and the other in parallel with the
line through a shunt transformer. The dc side of the two
converters is connected through a common capacitor, which
provides dc voltage for the converter operation. The power
balance between the series and shunt converters is a prerequisite
to maintain a constant voltage across the dc capacitor. As the
series branch of the UPFC injects a voltage of variable Fig. 6 Two-area power system with shunt FACTS device
magnitude and phase angle, it can exchange real power with the
transmission line and thus improves the power flow capability of
the line as well as its transient stability limit. The shunt 4. SIMULATION RESULTS AND
converter exchanges a current of controllable magnitude and DISCUSSION
power factor angle with the power system. It is normally
controlled to balance the real power absorbed from or injected 4.1 Two-area Power System with UPFC
into the power system by the series converter plus the losses by The two-area system shown in Fig. 5 is considered in this study.
regulating the dc bus voltage at a desired value. The system has a UPFC installed between bus-2 and bus-3. It is
considered that a 3-phase symmetrical short-circuit fault of 300
milli-seconds duration occurs at bus-3. The system is simulated
in Matlab/Simulink environment and the corresponding graphs
are shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. From the Fig. 7, it is inferred that

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 8 No.4, October 2010

without a UPFC, the oscillations in generator rotor angle of Area-

1 (Generator 1 and Generator 2) and Area-2 (Generator 3 and
Generator 4) increase and the settling time for the oscillations is
found to be high. However, from the Fig. 8, it can be seen that
with a UPFC, the oscillations in generator rotor angle of Area-1
and Area-2 decrease and the settling time for the oscillations is
found to be slightly low. Hence, the transient stability of the two-
area power system is improved with UPFC.

Fig. 9 Variation of bus-2 voltage of two area power system with

SVC

4.3 Two-area Power System with TCSC

The two-area system shown in Fig. 5 is considered in this study.
The system has a TCSC installed between bus-2 and bus-3. A 3-
phase symmetrical short-circuit fault of 300 milli-seconds
duration occurs at bus-3. The system is simulated in
Matlab/Simulink environment and the variation of line power
transmitted is shown in Fig. 10. From the Fig. 10, it is clear that
the power system stability of the system is improved with TCSC.

Fig. 7 Variation of generator rotor angle of the two-area power

system without UPFC

Fig. 10 Variation of line power of two-area power system with

TCSC

4.4 Two-area Power System with SSSC

The two-area system shown in Fig. 5 is considered in this study.
The system has a SSSC installed between bus-2 and bus-3. A 3-
phase symmetrical short-circuit fault of 300 milli-seconds
duration occurs at bus-3. The system is simulated in
Matlab/Simulink environment and the variation of line power
transmitted is shown in Fig. 11. From the Fig. 11, it is inferred
Fig. 8 Variation of generator rotor angle of the two-area power
that the stability of the power system is improved with SSSC. To
system with UPFC
show the settling time for line power, the time scale starts from 6
4.2 Two-area Power System with SVC seconds.
The two-area system shown in Fig. 6 is considered in this study.
The system has a SVC installed at bus-2. A 3-phase symmetrical
short-circuit fault of 300 milli-seconds duration occurs nearer to
bus-2. The system is simulated in Matlab/Simulink environment
and the variation of bus-2 voltage is given in Fig. 9. From the
Fig.9, it is clear that the voltage stability of the system is
improved with SVC.

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Volume 8 No.4, October 2010

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International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
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